"Whoo..."
After that string of high-intensity clashes, Storm was already utterly exhausted.
Once she was freed, her eyes quickly returned to normal. Bracing herself with a hand on her knee, she bent over and gulped down breaths.
"What about the Professor?"
Fenris did not have time to pay attention to Ororo. He turned straight to Jean Grey instead.
"The Professor's fine." Jean nodded.
From the moment Fenris was pulled away from the Professor's side to the instant Toad was instantly put down and Azazel retreated, only a few seconds had passed. Under Jean's telekinetic protection, Charles had remained completely unharmed.
"Fenris, thank God you were here."
Since he could not reach his shoulder, Scott settled for forcefully slapping Fenris on the arm instead.
Only now did he truly understand the Professor's foresight. As long as Fenris was around, building a mere reactor was nothing worth mentioning.
"Don't celebrate too early. Magneto's still up there."
Fenris shook his head. After a brief hesitation, he said, "Scott, you all stay here and guard the Professor."
Scott tensed immediately. "You're going up there alone?"
"See that torch?"
Fenris pointed at the torch held high by the Statue of Liberty. "Magneto's machine is probably there. Even if you go up, you won't be able to help much. You're better off staying here and supporting from range."
"If Magneto knocks me back down, Jean..." Fenris looked at Jean Grey. "Please catch me."
Jean glanced at Fenris's enormous body. She was just about to agree, then could not help looking at him one more time before nodding somewhat reluctantly. "I'll do my best."
"You just need to slow me down a little."
Fenris took a deep breath and patted Scott on the shoulder. "Azazel will be back soon. I'm leaving that to you."
"Right."
Scott nodded firmly.
Boom!
A thunderous noise rang out. The statue's hard copper shell was crushed under a deep footprint as Fenris launched himself upward with the force of his jump.
At the torch.
Rogue was locked inside a massive machine, and Magneto had already taken off his gloves and was moving toward her.
Rogue's special ability allowed her to temporarily gain Magneto's power to activate the machine and bear the backlash in his place. That way, Magneto could achieve his goal without paying the full price himself.
All he had to give up was a period of weakness and Rogue's life.
One Rogue in exchange for millions of mutant brothers and sisters. For Magneto, that was not a difficult choice.
Magneto slowly reached out a hand. "I'm sorry, child."
"Please... don't..."
As Rogue begged again and again, Magneto pressed his hand against her face without the slightest hesitation.
"AAAHHH!!"
A tremendous power poured into Rogue's body, and under Magneto's control, her hand locked tightly onto the machine.
In the next instant, the torch's outer shell exploded apart, and the machine that was about to kill tens of millions of people began spinning at incredible speed.
As Rogue screamed in agony, specks of white light began flashing across the machine.
Soon, that white light would expand rapidly across the whole of New York City.
Boom!
By the time Fenris leaped up to the torch, all he saw was Magneto lying on the ground with a satisfied look on his face.
"A perfect combination of speed and strength, though a little ugly to look at..."
The machine was already running. Magneto looked at Fenris smugly, completely stingy with his praise no longer. "Child, your potential is unfathomable."
"A pity you're too late. The machine has already started, and it's indestructible..."
At those words, Fenris whipped his head around. The white light was growing brighter and brighter, and it had already started spreading outward at alarming speed. A strand of Rogue's hair at her forehead was visibly turning white.
"Indestructible?" Fenris gritted his teeth. "I don't buy it!"
"What are you doing?"
Under Magneto's incredulous gaze, Fenris twisted his body and, carrying a terrifying amount of momentum, slammed straight into the machine without hesitation.
Bang!
The steel wheel, weighing several tons, was spinning so fast it was nearly impossible to follow with the naked eye. The force contained within it was enough to pulp any living thing instantly.
But after one earthshaking collision, Fenris actually held it back by force.
His claws locked onto the machine, his powerful leg muscles bulging like old tree roots knotting upward.
The white light that had been expanding outward at top speed suddenly dimmed a little.
The air exploded. A visible shockwave spread outward, staggering Magneto where he stood nearby.
Tank that kind of impact head-on, and even Fenris did not come away untouched. He drew in a sharp breath, and a faint blue glow flashed across his eyes.
"Fenris?"
Rogue was still enduring agonizing pain, but she had already felt the power draining from her body. In the middle of that despair, she suddenly saw a familiar, savage figure charging straight toward her.
Relief. Joy.
A rush of tangled emotions flooded her heart, and tears began pouring down uncontrollably.
"Stop!"
"Do you want to destroy the future of mutantkind?!"
Behind him, Magneto was furious and alarmed. He had never expected Fenris to actually possess the strength to halt the machine.
Weakness washed through him, but he still forced a sweep of his arm. Several huge shards of steel rose into the air and shot straight at Fenris like blades.
Tzzzzt—
Just as Fenris was about to tank the attack head-on, two thick optic beams suddenly shot up from below and blasted the steel fragments away with perfect accuracy.
"Scott, nice shot!"
Fenris roared and heaved with all his strength. Two completely opposing forces collided, and the supposedly indestructible machine was instantly torn apart.
Boom!
With a deafening explosion, the white light sweeping across the night sky collapsed inward all at once, and darkness returned.
"It's over..."
Fenris let out a long breath and stepped forward, slashing his claws through Rogue's restraints with ease.
By then Rogue was already severely drained. She was just about to collapse, so Fenris simply hoisted her onto his shoulder.
"Thank you, Fenris, thank you..."
Rogue lay limply across his shoulder, her arms hanging down. When her hand accidentally brushed against Fenris for an instant, she jolted in shock and hurriedly pulled it back.
Fenris turned his head. "What's wrong?"
"It doesn't affect you?" Rogue's eyes widened in disbelief.
"Heh."
Fenris only let out a soft chuckle and said nothing.
An ant trying to shake an elephant. That was never going to happen.
The essence of a Titan's life was incomparably higher than a human's, and with the Titan Encyclopedia on top of that, Fenris, while nowhere near as vast or overwhelming as the real Godzilla, was still far beyond anything Rogue could absorb.
"You've gotten even bigger than last time..."
Rogue spoke softly.
She quietly stared at her own hands, unable to hide the delight in her eyes.
Fenris walked over to Magneto and looked down at the old man lying there weak and helpless. Then he strode forward abruptly.
"Old man, you've got no taste at all. What's ugly about these muscles?"
Fenris still looked fairly ferocious in this form. Seeing that he had actually startled Magneto, Fenris grinned, reached down, and snatched off his helmet, spinning it on one fingertip.
"Mine now!"